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Lot 5/5 · Watches2023
#5 Most Expensive
The ItemPatek Philippe "Gobbi Milano" Heures Universelles Ref. 2523

A worldtime watch sold by a single Milan dealer became a blue-chip $8.97 million lot.

$8,970,000

The Item

The Ref. 2523 "worldtimer" displays the time in dozens of cities simultaneously on a rotating enamel disc — a mechanical feat that was staggeringly advanced for its era, especially in the small numbers Patek made through independent retailers like Milan's Gobbi.

Why It Went Viral

It's become a textbook example of how vintage worldtimers went from niche curiosities to blue-chip auction stars in barely a decade, as collectors chased anything mechanically complex and genuinely rare.

Patek Philippe "Gobbi Milano" Heures Universelles Ref. 2523Verified · Public record
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